Clermont-Ferrand: The 'Cannes' of Short Film Festivals

'Filmmakers most often create shorts as calling cards for longer works, however, on attending this year's Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival it became apparent to me that there is a short film 'universe' out there with an incredible appreciation for this peculiar medium in and of itself.' Apart from resulting in the consumption of an inordinate amount of bread, wine and cheese, attending a major European short film festival can open up enormous opportunities for the filmmaker. Here is a glimpse of the world that I discovered - the AFC travel grant system, the outrageous size of the festival, the sales opportunities, the invitations to other key international festivals, the press coverage, and the astounding coup of having two Australian films take home awards from Clermont-Ferrand 2004.'